Rosie Haze on Tenderness, Transformation, and Her Debut Album

SNQLX: What’s the first memory you have where music felt like it belonged to you, not just something happening around you? 

ROSIE: I think that music has belonged to me all my life, or at least as long as I can remember. I remember coming up with songs when I was still in preschool, and I have always been drawn to singing and writing lyrics. When I was three, I wrote a song about butterflies. I recall having a vision for a bouncy piano part, and I selected the notes for my mom to play. I even asked her to notate what I’d had her play and what I was singing so we could play it again. I have always known from a young age what I like and what I want to do and this memory shows me that music was always a part of that vision. 

SNQLX: When you think about who you are outside of music, what parts of yourself feel most essential, and which parts feel like they’re still forming? 

ROSIE: It is difficult to say who I am outside of music because I feel that music is so intertwined with who I am, and who I am is so intertwined with my songwriting. I think that an essential part of myself is how I care about politics and activism. With all the horrible things that are happening in our country and around the world, I now feel more passionate about this than ever. This sense of activism has also become a part of some of my songs, like my song No One Is Illegal, which tells the stories of those being affected by ICE right now. I decided to donate all proceeds from this song to the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition. One other part of myself is my independence. I have always followed my own path and wanted to do things my way, regardless of what others wanted to do. This has not always been easy and at times has left me feeling alone or too different from everyone else, especially when I was younger. Recently, however, I have really found my community and feel valued and appreciated for who I am. In this way, this is an essential part of myself, but also something that has taken time to feel completely comfortable with expressing. 

SNQLX: Was there a moment when music stopped feeling like an activity and started feeling like part of how you understood yourself? 

ROSIE: I can’t think of a specific moment because I feel as though music has always been a way that I understand myself and the world around me. The more that I write, the more music becomes an outlet for me to express myself and my feelings. Especially as I have grown up and had more that I want to write about, more experiences and feelings to express, and more issues that I care about speaking on, writing has become necessary. Music and writing feels like the natural response to any strong emotions I feel, and writing and singing helps me work through and understand these feelings. I always feel calmer and more myself after writing or playing music because this artistic expression helps me gain a deeper understanding of myself, sometimes on a conscious level but other times on a subconscious level. I think that this emotional connection and self-reflection are clear in the lyrics of my recent release, Fresh Flowers. This song talks about the new person I was becoming at the time of writing it and reclaiming my happiness after a difficult relationship. Writing Fresh Flowers was part of this personal rediscovery and growth. 

SNQLX: Portland has a reputation for introspection, community, and creative solitude. How has living and creating there influenced the way you see yourself, beyond just how it’s shaped your sound? 

ROSIE: I think that Portland has such an atmosphere of freedom of expression that I love. I went to university near Spokane, WA, and while I appreciated and enjoyed my time there, I feel like I can truly be myself in Portland. I think I see myself with more kindness and appreciation for my personal style and individual expression when I am in Portland. People really feel like they can be themselves here, and that has rubbed off on me as well. There are so many bright and bold characters that I think have inspired me to express myself authentically. To me, Portland has helped me realize that nobody cares about what you are doing as much as you think they do. 

SNQLX: Do you feel more honest when you’re writing alone, or when a song finally leaves you and becomes part of someone else’s world? 

ROSIE: I feel the most honest when I am writing alone. I love sharing my music and story with others, but once it is out in the world, it is open to interpretation, and the audience gets to create their own stories about my music. When I am writing alone and without judgement I feel I can be the most honest because I am the only one who knows the true meaning of my words, and they haven’t been changed by the audience’s perspective yet. I love sharing my music, and I think that one of the amazing things about creating art is all the different meanings a song can take, but when I am the only one who knows the song, it only has one meaning, which is honest and true to myself. 

SNQLX: There’s often a tension between being seen and protecting yourself. As an artist, how do you decide what parts of your inner life are meant to be shared and what stays yours? 

ROSIE: I think that to be an artist, you have to be vulnerable. I have shared a great deal of myself in my music, and I feel the need to do that. A way that I am able to occasionally protect the inner parts of my life and experiences is by keeping my music more about messages. If I can protect my personal experience and write a slightly different line that still conveys the same message as the experience I was going to write into the song, then I will do that if I feel it is something too vulnerable to share. That said, I am very honest in all of the songs I am releasing on my album, For Who I Was, and I share almost every feeling I felt as I grew through leaving a toxic relationship and major life changes. More than protecting myself through this album, I have focused on writing in a way that allows for the anonymity of those involved in my life and story. 

SNQLX: Has there been a moment in your life when making music stopped feeling optional and started feeling necessary? 

ROSIE: I think that music has always felt necessary in my life. There have definitely been ebbs and flows as to how much time I can dedicate to creating music; however, it is always present and needed. Over the past year-and-a-half I have really submerged myself in music personally, professionally, and socially, and I feel happier than ever because of this. I think it is clear to me now more than ever that music and creating is essential to my happiness. In addition to this, all the friends and connections I have made through playing music show me that music is also essential to how I find community in my life. 

SNQLX: When someone listens to your music without knowing you, what do you hope they feel, even if they don’t fully understand the story behind it? 

ROSIE: I hope that people feel empowered and understand the overarching message of growth and appreciating your past self. Through this message, I hope that everyone creates their own understanding of the stories behind my music and is able to relate experiences in their lives to my writing. I think that is one of the most powerful things about music. It is not necessary to fully understand the circumstances behind a given song because every listener can create their own meaning and feel empowered to let my song be theirs within their understanding of its meaning. I hope that my music can keep them company with whatever they are going through. 

SNQLX: As you build toward a larger body of work, what kind of emotional world are you hoping to create for someone who listens all the way through? 

ROSIE: I am hoping to build a world of empowerment, self-reflection, and growth. I think that my songs have a softness and kindness for my past self while also appreciating who I am today and I hope that my listeners feel that for themselves as well. My album title, For Who I Was, demonstrates this as it is a dedication to my past self. I don’t think we can grow through self-hatred or regret. I have had experiences in my life that were negative, specifically a manipulative and controlling relationship that has inspired many of my songs. I don’t regret who I was while I was in this relationship. I treat my past self with kindness because I wouldn’t be who I am today without her, and she did her best. This is the theme of my song Fresh Flowers, as you can see in the lines:

“I’m wearing black for who I was before. Cut fresh flowers and set them on my grave. I’m wearing white, starting this new life. Cut fresh flowers to carry on my way”. 

SNQLX: Right now, in this season of your life, what are you learning about yourself that you didn’t expect to? 

ROSIE: Something that I am learning about myself in this season of life is to have more trust in myself and to be more true to myself as well. I think that I have a very strong vision within my music, but something that I struggle with outside of music is being decisive and not letting other people’s opinions color how I feel about something or a situation. This also comes into play for me when I am working on all the other tasks that go into releasing music, like album art, self-promotion, and arranging a release show. I am a bit of a perfectionist, and I try so hard to make everything as good as it can be that sometimes I lose my sense of direction within the given tasks. I am working on trusting in my skills and growth and acknowledging that I am working really hard and am good enough to make this dream a reality. 

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In her written responses, Rosie explored the interior landscape of her songwriting—the reflection, the growth, the kindness she extends to past versions of herself. But there’s another side to the story, one that exists in real time: the energy of a room when a song finally lands, the nerves before performing something deeply personal, the physical act of layering harmony after harmony until it feels complete. What follows is a conversation that captures Rosie as she is right now—present, spontaneous, and unfiltered—talking through the moments that don’t make it into lyrics but shape everything about how the music gets made.

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